Monday, October 14, 2013

Stroke

 About 550,000 Humans suffer from this Brain Scorching Disease every year. That means someone suffers from this disease every minute. But  to who why, how, and when does stroke occur? You are just about to find out.

    Stroke is not one disease but has many branches. And each branch has a name based on how it forms. These names include Brain Attacks, cerebrovascular accidents (CVA's), hemorrhagic stroke, etc. But all of these strokes have one thing in common. It is on blood shortage in the Brain. Those who suffer stroke are usually above the age of 55 or so. Stroke in children is extremely rare. Stroke can lead to paralysis, mental, or physical damages in the brain and even to death within a few hours if not treated.


 The most common form of stroke is know as cerebral thrombosis  This is when an artery in the brain is blocked and blood flow stops. An important flow of oxygen and nutrients is cut off by a clot. And because of this, million of cells die instantly. Depending on which part of the brain the blood doesn't reach effects the damage type. 


Cerebral embrosis occurs whenever there is a blood clot elsewhere in the body and that artery leads up to the brain. There also the supply of nutrients and oxygen is cut off.
And many more such as hemorrhages where blood vessels burst open in the brain and and a massive session of blood clots and internal bleeding occur. These occur when a patient has high blood pressure.

    There are many more reasons why stroke forms, one includes atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) sickle cell anemia, migraine drug abuse and many more.

    Some symptoms of stroke include dizziness, weakness, lack of consciousness or like what my grandfather faced, vomiting, paralysis on a particular side of the body right/left and a loss of balance and coordination. If you put hot water on his left leg he won’t feel anything, but if you put cold water on the same leg of his, he will feel a painful burning sensation.

Although the large number of 550,000 people who suffer of stroke every year, the death rates and stroke rates have plummeted because of a more sophisticated supply of medicine and education on stroke. Medicines such as t-PA have been introduced dispersing blood clots rapidly within 1-3 hours. But a patient with stroke must consult a doctor immediately, for the amount of damage to the brain increases with every minute left untreated. 


    And now, my grandfather has lost much of his balance and coordination as well as control of some body parts.He is lucky to live and so are many people now thanks to medicines. 

There are many diseases which increase the chance of getting stroke. These include diabetes, blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, heart diseases and etc.
But of all the risks, hypertension is the greatest. There are also multiple risk factors for stroke including smoking, which doubles your chances of getting stroke. "It is responsible for a greater percentage of the total number of strokes in young adults than in older adults." (Brain Disorders Sourcebook)

Blood pressure diseases such as hypertension, multiply the chance of you getting stroke by 6x's. An entire 3rd of the adult population have hypertension, and 40-70 percent of which are senior citizens. The systolic pressure (max blood pressure for the left artery of the heart) should be 120mm and a diastolic (blood pressure between heartbeats) of 80mm is considered normal.

The second most common cause for stroke, is Heart Disease. This is because a faltering vain leading up to the brain, could lead to clotting. Abnormal beating of the left artery is a major heart disease in terms of contribution towards stroke. This is known as atrial fibrillation. This affects 2.2million people in the U.S. alone. 15% of people who have stroke have this condition.

Credits- Brain Disorders Sourcebook- Judd, Sandra


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